


what goes up must fall back down

by Chaotic_Neuteral



Category: Real Person Fiction
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Heroes and Villains, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Sleepy Bois Inc. - Freeform, Support, Switching Sides, Vigilante TommyInnit, vigilantes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:49:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29604105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaotic_Neuteral/pseuds/Chaotic_Neuteral
Summary: TommyInnit doesn't believe in heroes anymore. Well, not entirely. Their system is flawed, broken beyond repair. There are good eggs, but as the saying goes, "One bad apple spoils the whole barrel."So he became a vigilante at the ripe age of 14, working his way up to be one of the city's most wanted. The only problem? He's still a broke student living alone with an equally broke student, and the only place even taking interns is one of the biggest hero companies in the business.Which means TommyInnit, a wanted criminal and known anti-hero figure, is going to be taking coffee orders from the same people trying to put him behind bars.
Relationships: Niki | Nihachu & Wilbur Soot, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 62
Kudos: 1120





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Tommyinnit a Vigilante? Never.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29350068) by [greenpinkroe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenpinkroe/pseuds/greenpinkroe). 



> because i fell out of the bnha fandom but miss writing hero fics, have one of my favorite au's!
> 
> i also may have taken most (key word most) of these powers from a different superpower au fic i'm writing, and writing this is mostly to avoid burnout on that anyway so... enjoy?

Tommy sprinted through the alley, pulse pounding in his ears as he hopped over yet another sagging cardboard box. Those were useful, who would leave them out on such a rainy day? He didn't give himself time to think more about it, skidding around a corner just a second too late and hitting the wall anyway. The criminal he was pursuing didn't give him the time to breathe, keeping up the brutal pace they'd started at the beginning of the chase.

"Tommy! Keep going, they're gonna get away!" Tubbo's voice shouted, somewhat tinny, into his ear. Tommy huffed and started to work himself into a sprint again, listening to Tubbo rattle off street names and which turns to take. 

Honestly, Tubbo should have gone into the hero academy. He had the skill for it, and had wanted to, but his internet crashed at a bad time and the entrance exam roster was full by the time he'd been able to boot it back up. There was a way to get in after that, but those slots were filled before he even remembered. And either way, Tubbo had said with a grin, he probably wouldn't have been able to afford it in the first place.

But jeez, did he deserve a scholarship, Tommy thought as he ran through an unfortunately placed puzzle, soaking his sock. Tubbo was keeping pace with him mentally, watching the scene play out even though he was over a mile away, sitting on the couch at their shared apartment. "He's turning onto East Avenue now, he's dodging a car and- Tommy, turn turn turn! The heroes are there!"

Tommy swore, skidding to a halt. His heart was racing, and he was panting so hard it was drowning out whatever Tubbo was trying to say. He turned up the volume on his headset just in time to hear his last few words.

"-ook like a civilian! Willow's coming over, lean against the wall and pretend to be on your phone, hurry!"

Tommy fumbled with the zipper on the inner pocket of his coat but eventually succeeded in pulling out his phone. He tore the mask off his face and, for lack of better place to put it, shoved it behind him and awkwardly leaned on top of it. He flipped his phone to a messaging app, tapping out a message about dinner with shaking fingers, misspelling every other word.

"Act natural!" Tubbo hissed one last time before the static cut, signalling he'd muted himself. Tommy took a deep, shivery breath, waiting for Willow to walk past. He scrolled through the older messages, wincing when he realized he'd opened the app to his most recent messages with Big Q, the neighborhood drug dealer. Hey, he was a good math tutor and worked for free, who was Tommy to judge?

"Hello, young man." Willow's voice sounded how it did on the news, but at the same time entirely different. In the echoey space of the alley, he sounded a thousand times louder than he seemed, and his voice was at least twice as intimidating. Tommy gulped.

"Hello?" He glanced up.

"Did you happen to see someone run by? In his early twenties or so. I just caught a guy running out of this area. If you saw something you should report it, you could earn citizen points."

Ah. Citizen points. The equivalent of getting a gold star. Tommy shoved down the urge to scoff. "No, nobody came this way. But I saw someone come over here, then run the other way when they saw me. Unlucky timing for us, I suppose. But I did manage to catch a few things about them. Hair looked brown in this light, probably six feet or five foot eleven, had a mask on. I'd guess you're dealing with a vigilante, sir."

"Are there any that frequent this area?" Willow seemed impressed. That was... a good thing? He wasn't sure how much he wanted to suck up to one of the top heroes. But what had to be done had to be done. Tommy mentally sighed.

"There's a vigilante named TommyInnit that runs around these parts. Stops deals and robberies and the like. Not a bad guy, if I'm being honest, but good and bad is subjective when we're so different, y'know? I'm not sure if that was him or not, he's a little taller and this guy seemed less gangly."

"Thanks." Willow raised his eyebrows. "What's your name?"

Tommy blanked. "Uh, Tommy."

"Tommy?"

"Hey, I don't get to choose what my parents called me. It's either the name of the vigilante that takes care of my area, or Tomathy. Can you guess which I prefer?" Tommy stuttered over his words once or twice but was able to cover it up. Willow didn't seem to notice, chuckling.

"Well, Tommy, we're taking some interns at my work pretty soon. It's not a hard job so don't worry about doing any heavy lifting. Most you'll probably end up doing is cleaning the Blade's weapons."

"R-right." Tommy gaped just a little. Willow handed over his business card.

"Well, I hope to see you then. I apologize for the late notice, but it starts tomorrow at three o'clock in the headquarters. Have a nice rest of your day." He saluted, grinning, and jogged off back to the street to greet at least twenty adoring fans.

Tommy shook himself to his senses and started speed-walking back down the alley, heading back to where he'd come from. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, Tubbo did you catch that? Holy shit." He whispered to the air. 

Tubbo didn't respond, apparently either not watching or not bothering to answer. Likely the latter. Tommy frowned. "Okay, look, I handled that as best as I could, alright? You can yell at me in a few minutes when I get home. I even remembered to grab my mask, that's how good at this I am!" 

The stitch in the side of his stomach said that Tommy shouldn't be running anytime soon, but he pushed down the pain and broke into a jog. He was half expecting Tubbo to unmute his headset and start going off at some point in his run back, but he got no answer.

"Tubbo? You there? Did something happen?"

Images of his best friend lying dead in a pool of blood flashed through his mind. Was Tubbo being kidnapped or murdered? No, there was no way, but... Tommy sped up anyhow, the stitch tightening and almost stealing his breath away. "Tubbo, I'm coming, okay? Just sit tight."

He kept sprinting, spurred on by the thoughts of what horrible things could be happening to his only friend. He shoved inside the apartment's lobby, not bothering with the elevator as he hit the stairs at full speed. They only lived on the third floor, luckily, so he didn't have too far to climb up.

Tommy made it to their apartment, fumbling with the key and scraping it against the lock at least four times before making it in. There came the sound of shattering glass from within and oh god Tubbo was actually in trouble-

Tommy pushed open the door so hard it banged against the wall. He didn't bother to close it, just rushing inside. "Tubbo? Tubbo, where are you?"

"In the kitchen? Why?" Tubbo called from around the corner, confused.

Tommy could have cried with relief, but instead he just fell over and panted, hand over his heart. Tubbo poked his head into the hallway, broom in hand, and frowned. "Aw, Toms, the door's still open."

He closed and locked it, sliding the deadbolt as he always did. They didn't need to be so tight with security, but Tubbo swore the doorframe had been rotting forever and the locks were flimsy. He was probably right, though, Tommy decided as he leaned his head against the wall, still sucking in air like his life depended on it.

"Who's this? Your roommate?" Another voice called. Tommy's head shot up, and he looked accusingly at Tubbo, who shrugged.

"Yeah, this is Tommy. Hey, come around so I can introduce you two. Tommy, this is Ranboo. I'm helping him with learning graphic design. Ranboo, this is Tommy, my roommate and best friend." He declared Tommy was his best friend proudly, and Tommy couldn't help but grin. He never had to be unsure about where he stood with Tubbo.

"It's nice to meet you! Tubbo was just telling me about your job."

"Job?" Tommy worked out in between pants.

"Yeah, it's a great thing you're doing. There's not enough heroes for them to be working like this, putting all the big names in the cities because it'll get them more publicity. We need to be safe too, y'know? If all the law enforcement is in one place, the criminals will just go elsewhere."

Tommy nodded. "I like this guy."

Tubbo grinned. "You like him so much you could help him clean up the glass I dropped while I run out to get more eggs, right?"

"What'dya need eggs for?" Tommy hauled himself to his feet, taking the broom from Tubbo. 

"Baking." Ranboo explained. Tubbo gestured to him, then at Tommy, and waved, grabbing his coat and opening the door to leave. Ranboo looked slightly less relaxed, but kept talking anyway after the door closed. "We needed to take a beak because your internet crashed, and he figured we might as well bake muffins."

"Bad's recipe?" Tommy waved for Ranboo to follow him, heading back to the kitchen.

"I think so. Doesn't he own that bakery a few blocks away? How'd you get a recipe from him?"

Tommy shrugged. "He's a cool guy once you get to know him. A.K.A. I saved his bakery from a fire once when I was vigilante-ing around, and he's given me free food since then. And that recipe."

"That's amazing. I wasn't kidding when I said you were doing a lot of good." Ranboo started sweeping up the glass, and Tommy realized the cup had been dropped while they were beating the eggs. 

"I mean, thanks. Seems like I'm working against myself some days, though."

"What do you mean?" Ranboo stood up to his full height to stretch, and suddenly Tommy was aware the guy was at least three inches taller than him. That was highly uncomfortable to realize.

"Just managed to get myself invited to an event where I could be hired by the city's top heroes and put myself as a vigilante on Willow's radar."

"Wait- you met Willow?" Ranboo's head jerked up. Tommy shrugged.

"Well, yeah. He was patrolling the area and caught the guy I was after before I could. But only because he was in front of me already."

Ranboo nodded, seemingly in awe. "Wow, how was he in person?"

"Alright. Seemed a little stuck-up, like he thought I should be kissing the ground he walks on, but overall not awful." He was exaggerating, of course, Willow had been perfectly civil, but Tommy's distaste for heroes was far more than skin-deep.

"That's insane." Ranboo whistled through his teeth and brushed the last shard of glass into the dust pan. 

Tommy frowned, not didn't question how Ranboo actually felt about heroes. "Well, what do you do for a living? College man?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to be a nurse. Graphic design is just a side passion, something I can turn to when I'm burnt out or bored, y'know?" Ranboo laughed, thinking of something. "I'm just hoping I don't scare the patients. I'm a little tall."

"Shrink," Tommy said bluntly. The room went silent for a second before they both burst into laughter. The joke wasn't even funny, but it was either that or face how awkward their conversation had turned. Tommy, still giggling a little, tossed the glass and egg mix into the trash.

"What's so funny?" Tubbo looked amused as he stepped into the kitchen, plastic bag in hand.

"I told him to shrink." Tommy and Ranboo exchanged a glance that sent them into another fit of giggles. Tubbo smiled, shaking his head in disbelief. 

"Be nice to the guests, Toms."

"I am nice!" Tommy protested. This time, all three of them dissolved into comfortable laughter. Tommy felt nice, warm and happy, managing to forget the internship being offered to him and all it entailed.


	2. Chapter 2

"And you didn't tell me?!" Tubbo was half shouting, keeping his voice subdued as to not disturb the neighbors. "Are you kidding!"

"No, I'm not," Tommy groaned, sprawled across his bed. He'd been sleeping before Tubbo found Willow's business card lying on the couch where it had fallen out of his pocket. "I thought I told you, anyway."

"You most certainly did not!" Tubbo whisper shouted at him. "I leave for twenty minutes to help Ranboo and you get Willow's fucking business card? And end up invited to an event where you could be hired?!"

"...yeah, pretty much." Tommy shrugged, trying to blink the sleep from his eyes. "I don't see the problem."

"You don't see the...? Jesus, Tommy, sometimes I wonder about you. You're a vigilante for christ's sake! You can't just go around rubbing elbows with the heroes!" Tubbo pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Tommy shrugged again, too tired to think straight. His legs were aching from all the running. "He didn't even know I existed until today, it's fine."

"Now he does! Tommy, he knows your name. Did you at least give him an alias?"

"Didn't have time," Tommy grunted. "He bought that my real name was Tomathy, though. Might have to forge some papers down the road but hey, we can pretend I was never arrested for the drug thing."

"We can- wait, you're going?" Tubbo's head shot up, voice thick with disbelief.

"Duh? We need the money. I looked it up, it's gonna pay pretty well if my record is clean, which it will be with the forged papers. I mean, come on, look at us! Big T, we're eating cereal for dinner and only living here because of someone else's sheer goodwill."

Tubbo frowned. "But there's gotta be a better way."

"A better way? We've tried all the ways we can think of."

"Then we'll try them again! It's just too unsafe, can't you see that?"

Tommy sat up, seeing they weren't going to stop talking anytime soon. "We need this to work out. Ms. Puffy isn't putting us on the street because she's a good soul, not because we can pay her. Half the shit we eat is free from that bakery. We could barely afford a carton of eggs, Tubbs. These aren't problems that are just gonna go away."

"I know that! I'm just- I'm worried. I don't want you to get hurt." Tubbo took a seat at the foot of the bed. "We're a team. I don't know what I'd do if you got arrested. I don't know how to use my power for something like a jailbreak, and if there's fines, we can't pay them-"

"Tubbo." Tommy waited until his friend looked up, making eye contact. "I'll be safe. We can get Big Q to help us with the papers, I'm sure he knows a guy. I promise I won't be stupid. Besides, the internship will just have me polishing trophy cases and shit. I probably won't talk to Willow ever again."

Tubbo just sighed, standing. "Okay. I'm going to trust you here. But you have to promise we're gonna go get those papers and that you'll at least look presentable, alright?" He waited at the doorway for Tommy to nod before reciprocating the action and flicking off the light. "See you in the morning."

"See you in the morning."

***

"You invited him?" Techno looked incredulously at his friend. "Some kid on the street?"

"Hey, easy." Wilbur fell onto the couch with a huff. "We needed more people from low-income neighborhoods. There's no way he's getting in, anyhow. I mean c'mon, we all know he's not gonna make it, so what's the harm?"

"More and more poor districts have been in support of vigilantes, Wil. We've been getting riot warnings for months now. Thank god nothing's happened, of course, but it's gonna eventually. Do we really want one of them on the inside?"

"If, and stress on if, he gets in, it'll just make us look good. Plus he could end up being an important window into what people down there are thinking. Not like we can just go there undercover and ask around."

"What're you two talking about?" Phil pushed open the door, evidently just changed out of his hero costume. "It's too soon after work to be arguing."

"He invited someone from a poor district. Home of the vigilante TommyInnit."

"Never heard of him." Phil took a seat on one of the chairs scattered around the room, tucking his wings over the back.

"Exactly!" Techno tossed his arms up. "He lives in such a nowhere spot that even their highest level vigilantes aren't on the goddamn radar!"

"Oh, piss off." Wilbur groaned, rolling over to bury his face in a pillow. "I didn't sleep enough last night."

"It's the sadboy songs," Techno joked. "Stop staying up til three in the morning with your guitar and maybe you would get more sleep."

"Piss off!" Wilbur tried to say something else, but was drowned out by Phil's laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning! Are you here for the interviews?" A woman called from his right. Tommy turned and almost died on the spot when he found it was yet another top hero, Nihachu. She grinned and approached him. "Is that a yes?"

"It's- yeah, it's a yes."

"Fantastic. Before you're allowed to go into the main room, I'm supposed to ask you a few questions. This just makes sure nobody gets in that isn't supposed to. What district are you from?"

Tommy winced. "Er, 92."

The city was broken up into a hundred districts, varying in sizes. It was mostly separated by income, District 1 being full of politicians, actors, and top heroes. He was practically on the street, living in such a high number. Nihachu's eyes widened for a moment before going back to normal. Her grin barely faltered. Good on her, Tommy thought to himself.

"Right. Is it a high crime area?"

"Of course it's a high crime area, ma'am, we're a poor district." Tommy could imagine how Tubbo looked sitting back at home, glaring at him from miles away. He was glad they hadn't been able to figure out two-way communication without being caught, otherwise his friend would definitely be screaming at him.

Nihachu nodded, checking off a box on her sheet. "Any well known vigilantes?"

"No, ma'am. We have a few, but they're low profile."

"Right. And how do you feel about them?"

"I already told Willow how I feel. I think they're important to the higher numbered districts because all the high tier heroes fight with their comical nemeses and rarely solve the actual crimes being committed in the low-tier districts. It makes them look good on the news, but all the real crime is out of the spotlight. Wouldn't look as good if they didn't have a win streak like that, right?" A little bitterness crept into Tommy's tone. He froze, looking up at Nihachu. Had he said too much?

She nodded, appearing to be deep in thought. "They'll want to see you right away in the main office. Willow's, likely. I'll direct you there myself, alright?" Nihachu beckoned to him and stepped inside, the doors opening of their own accord. She must have some kind of passkey on her, they weren't sliding open for just anybody.

Tommy couldn't hold in the gasp of awe that escaped him as they walked through the main lobby. It was huge and clearly well designed, arching doorways and huge spiral staircases. It defied the laws of physics, having been built by someone with a reality-altering power. There were zero-g training studios, upside down desks, and, to Tommy's delight, training rooms that looked huge on the inside but didn't make sense at all, considering they would stretch the sides of the building out at least fifty more feet. 

"Tubbo, are you seeing this shit?" He whispered under his breath. Tommy could imagine how his friend looked, likely frantically nodding. He was probably sitting on the floor by the couch, eyes closed with a book lying open next to him. That's how he'd been when Tommy left, getting used to being in the phantom form so he could follow all day and not get "cramped," as he called it.

"If you were someone regular, I'd take you in there." Nihachu pointed to a room with a glass door. About twenty young adults milled around inside. "But you're not regular. They told me to send up someone special, someone they'd like. You fit that bill, so we're going on past."

Tommy swelled with pride... then deflated when he realized what that meant. He might actually get the job. Or he could crash and burn, they could figure out his identity and arrest him, a plane could fly directly into the building... Tommy shook his head to dispel the thoughts.

"It's just down this hallway, at the very end. You can't miss it, the door is labeled as being Philza's office. Alright?" Nihachu saluted him. He blinked anxiously before nodding. Tubbo. Tubbo was there, even if Tommy couldn't see him. It would be fine, he reasoned, nothing could go wrong if Tubbo was watching.

He stepped into the office.

Tommy froze in his tracks. He didn't realize he was meeting three of the city's top heroes in a day. Behind the huge desk sat Philza, wings tucked neatly behind him. The chair must have been designed for it. On the couch, Technoblade sat with his legs tossed over the arm. And, finally, Willow stood at the huge window, looking out over the city as cars rushed by below.

The door closed far too loud.

Three heads turned, and Tommy could have cried on the spot. There he was, a small-time seventeen year old vigilante, staring down the most powerful heroes he'd ever meet. And he was about to talk to all three of them.

"Oh! I've seen you before!" Willbur jogged over with a grin. "You're the one I invited, right?"

"Y-yeah." Tommy was kind of shocked he remembered.

From the couch, Technoblade snickered. Philza shot him a mild glare. "Right, so could you pass over your papers? We need to look them over before we actually talk to you. It'll only take a moment, though."

Tommy nodded and handed the stack of paper in his right hand. They were all forged, thank god Big Q had friends in high places and was able to hook him up. For all intensive purposes, his name was Tomathy Adams and he had a perfectly clean record, and an average number of citizen points. (But not perfectly average, slightly above. The guy had said that would make him look good, but not suspiciously so.)

"So... Tomathy." Philza finished flipping through the papers. "You're from District 92?"

Willow whistled, rubbing the back of his neck, and Technoblade laughed again. He caught Tommy looking and put his hands up, standing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Wil here didn't realize how low down you were."

"I-" Tommy looked around the room, avoiding eye contact. "Okay."

"These two are mean, ignore them. Take a seat!" Philza gestured to the large spinning chair. Tommy awkwardly perched on the edge, hyper-aware of how both Technoblade and Willow were behind him. "So, what made you want this job?"

Honesty or what they wanted to hear? Tommy battled for a moment before deciding they probably had a way to detect lies. And if they didn't, he was still an awful liar. "Honestly, I need the money. Little more high-profile than I was expecting, but I'll take what I can get."

"Not for the fame of it? Not because you want to be doing your city a service?" Philza raised one eyebrow. Tommy began to sweat.

No, no, he had to keep up the lie. "I'm being honest, sir. I wasn't looking for anything so... sought after. I certainly wasn't planning on showing up to this before I was invited, goodness knows even now I'm barely welcome here."

Philza winced. "Sorry about that, Tomathy. That wasn't very professional of them. Of us."

"I'm used to it." Tommy shrugged. He really was, it was a regular issue he had to deal with when people saw his citizen I.D.

"Right, then. What are your thoughts on vigilantes?"

"Again?" Tommy raised his eyebrows. "Didn't think they were such an issue up at head of the business. I think they're important to districts like mine, though they don't need to be. Most of the heroes are focused in the top districts, fighting practically comical supervillains that barely inflict major property damage, while people I know have to learn to keep their heads down for fear of being mugged. I'd prefer if vigilantes didn't exist, but I'd only like that if there was no reason for them to. If heroes actually cared about fighting real crime as much as they did the media coverage and staying relevant, I would prefer vigilantes require a license to operate."

Philza nodded. "I can see why Nihachu sent you up here. You're hired."

"Hired?" Tommy froze. "But- but what about everyone downstairs? Have you talked to any of them yet?"

"Thanks for the concern, but that was a formality. We were waiting for someone like you. We'll tell them the position is closed and they can all go home. As far as they need to know, we hired someone's kid or something." Willow put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "In other words, we'll take care of it."

"Welcome to the family, Tomathy Adams."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he's explained the vigilante thing like three times now im so sorry-


	4. Chapter 4

"And you're sure?" Phil looked down at the street, watching Tomathy's retreating back. "You're entirely sure."

"I could hear him talking to someone named 'Tubbo' all the way down the street, going 'holy shit holy shit holy shit' and talking about having a to grab a mask. Yes I'm sure. I even did some research last night. The only pictures people have of the vigilante in his area? Blond hair, about his height and body type. Not to mention the guy's apparently named Tomathy now, when he wasn't before."

"Okay." He kept watching until Tomathy turned a corner. "We can't talk to him about it yet. I mean, you saw how he talked about heroes. To our faces, too! I can't imagine what he'll say once he trusts us. And still, I'm not even fully convinced this is the right person, it could have been a fluke."

"Sure." Wilbur frowned. "But I'm pretty sure."

***

Tommy burst into the apartment with a huge grin on his face. Immediately Tubbo ran to him, and they had a little dance party before the door even closed, whooping excitedly. When they were both out of breath, Tommy shouted a quick "Sorry!" out into the hall. 

"Holy shit." Tubbo put a hand over his mouth. "You're really working with them now."

"I am, I am!" Tommy couldn't stop grinning, he hadn't been able to all the way home.

They got settled on opposite ends of the couch, smiling madly. Tubbo paused for a moment before fighting his face into a serious expression. "So," He said, "How do you feel about vigilantes?"

Tommy burst into laughter and covered his face. "Oh my god, right! I swear they never talk to each other, holy shit."

"How many times is that now, three?" Tubbo let the act drop, giggling. "You'd think the top heroes would communicate with each other more, jeez. Oh, hey, how'd the papers hold up? Jack stopped by to ask for some baking soda and I didn't catch that part of the conversation. Did Big Q's contact do well?"

"Yeah, they were great." Tommy nodded. "Nobody suspected a thing."

"Awesome. Wanna celebrate with cupcakes? Ranboo dropped off some batter today, said we could either toast our victory or eat our sorrows. He's a pretty cool guy." Tubbo hopped up, heading to the cabinets. "I figured we could invite someone back over, maybe Fundy, and we could bake 'em together?"

"Sounds good. I'll call him, yeah?" Tommy reached for his phone, before remembering he hadn't been allowed to bring it to the interview. It sat on the table close by, though, and he just picked it up from there.

***

Fundy showed up not too much later, still half in costume. He was a low-tier hero, one that was usually set to patrol their area. If he had more training, Tommy didn't doubt he would be way more powerful. As is, he mostly dealt with laundromat robberies. 'Quarters and shit,' in his own words.

"Heyyy, Fundy!" Tubbo cheered when their door pushed open. "Ready to bake?"

"Hell yeah I am." Fundy closed the door with a grin. "I'm assuming this means Tommy got the job?"

"Fuck yeah!" Tommy threw his arms up in victory. Fundy was, luckily, very much alright with his antics. Tommy was about the same level as he was, and that was without powers. Tommy either just didn't have a power or it was so inconspicuous that in all his years of trying he'd never noticed. But hey, like he always said, he preferred nothing over getting a 'Furry power.'

Speaking of... "Hey, tails away in the house. Fuckin' weird." Tommy batted at Fundy's tail, which disappeared with an annoyed glare. "Not my fault you swipe shit off counters with the damn thing."

Fundy chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, and the momentary tension released. "Yeah, yeah. Menace in the kitchen with or without, I'm afraid. I suggest you don't let me near the oven."

"Noted." Tubbo dumped a packet of powdery cake mix into a bowl. "Hey, Toms, mind passing me the measuring cup?"

"The measuring- yeah, where is that again?" Tommy spun around, trying to remember where it was hidden.

"Uhh, lower right hand cabinet, the one with the chip. Fundy, move your knee. Yeah, there, thanks." Tubbo accepted the cup and filled it with water. "This kitchen is not made for three people."

"We should have considered that before inviting a third person, then," Tommy laughed, pushing past Tubbo to reach for another bowl. "Want me to deal with the frosting? I think I remember how to..." He grabbed the ingredients, heading for the table to clear up space in the cramped room.

"Eh, wrong." Fundy grabbed the sugar from Tommy's hands. "You need powdered sugar for frosting."

"Oh." Tommy paused. "There's a difference?"

"Yes." Fundy and Tubbo said at the same time.

"Right. Store? I can get premade frosting and be out of your hair for ten minutes." Tommy nodded at the door, already reaching for his coat. A single nod from Tubbo and he was off, shutting the door behind him.

***

Big Q was waiting out front, surprisingly. Tommy jogged over to him, waving. "Heyy, Big Q! How's it going, man?"

"Going good." Quackity grinned, all teeth and no gums. "How'd it go? Did the papers hold up?"

"They were great, thank you. So great, in fact, that I've got the job now."

"Nice, man!" Quackity gave him a high five. "Goin' somewhere? I can come with, if you want. Got nothing better to do, I'm waiting for a friend."

It was always a friend, Tommy decided. Never went by any name, Quackity just had a lot of connections. Apparently. He mentally noted to not ever cross him. "Yeah, I'm just out to get some frosting. Fundy's over, we're gonna celebrate. You can join, if you want, but just for the cupcake-eating part. The kitchen isn't big enough for all of us."

Quackity jumped up and walked with Tommy down the street. "You sure? Don't think that guy really likes me. Drugs and all." 

"He's really chill. I mean, he lets me vigilante around, so he can't be all that bad." Tommy shrugged, kicking a pebble. "Seems like he wouldn't be so bothered by you. Doesn't like sides all that much, that guy. Morally gray or something."

"Oh. Cool." Quackity nodded slowly. "What're you gonna do with that fancy new job? Are they gonna let you shine the weapons or is it more of a paperwork kinda deal? Don't get me wrong, paperwork is fine, but-"

"Nobody's really said." Tommy shrugged again. "I just need the money, man."

"I get that." Quackity turned around to walk backwards so they could take face-to-face. "What were they like?"

"Weird? I don't know. I got to meet all of them, though. The Sleepy Boys."

"All of 'em? Were they the ones to hire you? I thought it would be further down the chain of command."

"Me too!" Tommy missed the pebble and opted to keep walking instead of going back to fix his mistake. "Yeah, all three of them. It was really scary, but at the same time super cool. Technoblade actually laughed when they read out my district, though. They probably bet I wasn't gonna show."

"Well you proved them wrong, right?" Quackity spun around so he was facing forward, and fell back to walk next to Tommy again. "I mean, you got there and then managed to land yourself the job, that's gotta be something!"

"I'm not sure." Tommy furrowed his brow. "The more I think about it, the weirder it feels. I mean, I get there and I'm asked about vigilantes. Like, the weirdest question. Why not my ambitions? My reason for wanting the job? Then when I answer I'm immediately taken up there, they ask the exact same thing and bam, I'm hired. Doesn't that sound kinda sketchy to you?"

"Majorly." Quackity frowned. "But they're legit, obviously. I mean c'mon, these are the Sleepy Boys, they're pros. What reason would they have for hiring you so fast like that, though? It doesn't feel right."

"No, it doesn't." Tommy hummed, stepping into the store. "I'll just watch my back, y'know? Make sure nothing actually bad is going on. I don't wanna be six feet under because of a paid internship."

"Good lad." Quackity jogged to the frosting. "What color do we want?"

"I'm thinking red or yellow. A warm shade, definitely."

"Compromise. Orange." Quackity held up the bright container, and Tommy nodded.

"Win-win. Need anything else while we're here?"

"I'm good, man." 

"Sweet." Tommy took the frosting and started walking towards the check out. "So, about th-"

There was a loud bang from the front of the room. Tommy ducked on instinct, dragging Quackity down with him. His best guess as to what was happening was probably a robbery. It turned out to be correct when a gruff shout from the front of the room met his ears.

"Stay down! We're just here for the money." A man's voice, late twenties-early thirties. Tommy narrowed his eyes, glancing to Quackity. Should he intervene? He didn't have a mask, but...

"Don't," Quackity whispered. "It's not worth it, people have cameras."

"I want to help, this is what I'm supposed to do." Tommy made his decision, pulling his t-shirt up to cover his mouth and nose before leaping up, tossing the frosting behind him and sprinting to the front of the store.

There was two men, one with glowing red hands and the other with a gun. Right, one powered and one plain. He could work with that. The immediate issue was the gun. Tommy ducked a punch and kicked out, not quite knocking the gun from the man's hand. He managed to throw him off, however, and a bullet pinged around somewhere near the ceiling.

The man snarled, running full-force at Tommy instead of trying to shoot again. Okay, he could handle that. The man was at least a foot taller, which he hadn't seen coming, and he was also heavily built, and was coming at Tommy with quite a lot of force. So... Tommy dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding being knocked off his feet. He learned a trick years ago, using someone's momentum to knock them over. It worked even with his body type, which made it useful in most scenarios.

The man went sprawling, gun flying from his hand as he had to stop and catch himself. It flew, luckily enough, quite far. Tommy thanked whatever gods there were and turned to the other man. His hands looked red-hot, and Tommy didn't want to find out their exact temperature. So he just stared the guy down.

Apparently his hands were not just hot, considering he was able to shoot a laser at Tommy. He ducked just in time and it shattered the seafood stand instead of burning a hole through him.

"This doesn't have to be hard!" The man shouted. "Let them hand over the money, kid."

Tommy opened his mouth to answer, but a rush of cold air hit his face. Oh, shit, his shirt had-

"Tommy, get down!" Fundy shoved him to the side and blocked the punch from the first man, who had gotten back the gun. "Grab Quackity and go home, I can handle this!" He kicked the man in the shin, tail whipping around frantically.

Tommy nodded before scrambling to his feet and beckoning for Quackity, who followed suit.

"Holy shit, dude." He cheered, adrenaline coursing through his system.

"Jesus." Quackity pushed back his hair for a second and let out a whoosh of breath. "That was fucking terrifying, let's never go to the store again."

"I'm with you." Tommy giggled breathlessly and started walking in the direction of home. "Oh hold on, the frosting-"

"Is right here." Quackity held up a (slightly dented) container of frosting. "I think we can have it for free, considering you just saved them a bunch of money."

Tommy laughed for real this time, jumping up and down. "This is the best day ever!"


End file.
